1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support structure for a geological formation in a mining environment and, more particularly, to a cable truss system for supporting pillars and the like in a mining environment.
2. Prior Art
Truss systems, such as roof support systems, are well known in the mining environment for providing support to the surrounding mine roof, walls, pillars and the like. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,946,315 and 5,018,907 disclose typical mine roof truss systems utilizing interconnected tie rods extending between rigid roof bolts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,498 discloses a mine roof support system utilizing a flexible cable in place of tie rods extending between rigid rock anchors or bolts. A variety of cable truss systems has been developed such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,265,571; 5,462,391 and 5,466,095. The difficulties with the known prior art systems are that the prior art truss systems do not provide cost-effective systems adapted for a variety of applications. Most of the prior art requires highly specialized pieces, making the resulting truss system overly complicated, impractical and non-economical to manufacture.